Bake up a batch of these moist lemon poppy seed muffins in under an hour! This lemon poppyseed muffin recipe has a sweet lemon glaze that packs delicious citrus flavor in every bite.
For more muffin recipes, try these bakery style chocolate chip muffins and my all time favorite blueberry muffins!
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No matter the time of year, I always have a batch of these muffins on hand. They're perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee and are equally enjoyable as a nice afternoon snack. This lemon poppy seed muffins recipe always come out super fluffy and have a nice crunch from the poppyseeds that I really love - I've always been big on texture.
I added a delicious lemon glaze on top for that fresh lemon flavor that always satisfies my sweet tooth. I love a good lemon glaze, check out this lemon loaf - I'm all about the glaze!
If you're in search of the perfect lemon poppy seed muffin, this recipe is it. All you need are a few simple ingredients, a 12-cup muffin tin, and your appetite.
Grab your morning coffee and let's get started. Happy Baking!
Ingredients
Butter: I always use real salted butter for flavor - it also adds some moisture and makes for a perfect muffin. You can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
Vegetable oil: oil adds a moist texture to these bakery-style muffins.
Sugar: this recipe calls for white sugar. I didn't add brown sugar because I didn't want the caramel notes of the brown sugar to compete with the lemony flavor.
Lemon Extract: you only need a tiny bit of lemon extract as it's very strong but it enhances the lemon flavor.
Eggs: to provide lift and structure to the muffins.
Sour cream: for moisture and flavor! Whole milk yogurt or greek yogurt work as a substitute here as well.
Lemon Juice: for added lemon flavor, this is a must! I recommend using fresh lemon juice for best results. However, store bought works too!
Lemon Zest: the lemon zest is a must. Rubbing the lemon zest and sugar together is key to the ultimate lemon flavor!
Leaveners: baking powder and baking soda give these muffins that nice dome shape!
All purpose flour: to bind and hold everything together.
Poppy seeds: crunchy poppy seeds add such a beautiful texture to these fluffy muffins.
Kosher salt: I always recommend using kosher salt over iodized salt. It has a better flavor and doesn't have that bitter salty taste.
Substitutions
- If you're running low on sour cream, you can sub it out for greek yogurt instead.
- For a healthier alternative to vegetable oil, you can use coconut oil instead.
- Vegan version: sub out milk and sour cream for your favorite vegan alternatives. Use the same amounts listed in the recipe card.
- Gluten Free: use a 1-to-1 baking flour instead of all purpose flour.
Tips
- Do not overmix your batter. Mix batter until just combined to avoid tough muffins.
- Use fresh lemons for the lemon zest and lemon juice. If you can find meyer lemons, I recommend using those as they have the best flavor!
- The secret to the best homemade muffins is to let the batter rest for at least 15-20 minutes. This allows the flour in the batter to absorb the moisture, yielding a fluffy tender muffin that has those sky high domes like a bakery muffin!
- If you don't have fresh lemons for zesting, you can use store bought lemon juice. Just be sure to add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice.
How to make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, combine sugar and fresh lemon zest. Rub together, pinching the lemon zest and the sugar together. This gives the muffins a stronger lemon flavor. (Image #1)
- Then combine room temperature eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract, sour cream, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon zest and milk. Whisk together until all ingredients are fully incorporated. (Image #2)
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. (Image #4)
- Cover the bowl and allow the muffin batter to rest for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Grab a 12-cup muffin pan. Add the muffin liners to every other muffin cup. Fill the muffin cups with ⅓ cup of the batter - to the top.
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an addition 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of a muffin.
- To make the glaze, mix together melted butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar. Drizzle on top of the muffins and enjoy.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Muffins can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When you're ready to eat them, let them sit at room temperature until fully thawed. Heat them up in the oven at 300 degrees F for 5-8 minutes.
The key to moist muffins is using enough fat and allowing the dough to rest prior to baking.
Yes, you should allow your muffins to rest. Doing this makes the muffins tender and soft and allows them to rise in the oven.
More Muffin Recipes
- Banana Nut Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Corn Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
- Zucchini Pumpkin Muffins
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Let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! Also, if you decide to make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below! Tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can see your creations! I hope that you love this recipe as much as we do!
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Equipment
- 12-cup Muffin Tin
- Muffin Liners
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 3 tbsps poppy seed
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup salted butter (melted)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream (room temperature)
- 2 ½ tbsps lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp lemon extract
- ½ cup milk (room temperature)
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp butter (melted)
- 2 tbsps lemon juice
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, combine sugar and fresh lemon zest. Rub together, pinching the lemon zest and the sugar together. This gives the muffins a stronger lemon flavor. Then combine room temperature eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract, sour cream, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon zest and milk. Whisk together until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Cover the bowl and allow the muffin batter to rest for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grab a 12-cup muffin pan. Add the muffin liners to every other muffin cup. Fill the muffin cups with ⅓ cup of the batter - to the top.
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an addition 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of a muffin.
- To make the glaze, mix together melted butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar. Drizzle on top of the muffins and enjoy.
Notes
- Do not overmix your batter. Mix batter until just combined to avoid tough muffins.
- Use fresh lemons for the lemon zest and lemon juice. If you can find meyer lemons, I recommend using those as they have the best flavor!
- The secret to the best homemade muffins is to let the batter rest for at least 15-20 minutes. This allows the flour in the batter to absorb the moisture, yielding a fluffy tender muffin that has those sky high domes like a bakery muffin!
- If you don't have fresh lemons for zesting, you can use store bought lemon juice. Just be sure to add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice.
Fabulous recipe - the muffins were delicious -- they came out moist and with the right texture. I had a GF sugar free guest arriving, so I took liberty of substituting GF 1-1 flour and a KAB 1-1 sugar substitute. Still the muffins came out so delicious my husband even liked them. I didn't have lemon extract but still the lemon flavor came through. I Got confused at one point: After putting muffin tin into oven, bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and make an additional 10-15 minutes. I highly recommend this recipe.
Thank you so much Kathy! I'm so happy that you were able to customize it to your liking and still have an amazing turnout! Cheers!